Inquiring minds want to know....

[gary l. britton]

Hi to all, especially the members that participated in the NACR 2007 races:

With great interest I read the article in the winter DaySailor Quarterly about the NACR 2007 races. I was especially interested in the wind conditions, quoted in the 20-30+ range for some of the races. I also noted the photos in the Quarterly and on the website, showing boats with what appeared to be sailing with full sail and jib.

I would love to hear information on how one survived in those conditions and racing at the same time. How much did you reef the sails, one or two reef points? Did both in the crew have to hike out to the limit? Any other advice would be apprecieted.

I, of course, am not a great sailer by any standards and usually stay on the shore in those wind conditions, and I sail single handed. But, as I have posted several times, our wind conditions in central Oklahoma are almost always in the 10-20+mph range especially during the spring and fall, and I and surely others would like to hear of the experience of such heavy wind sailing/racing.

Fair winds to all !!

Gary
1966, DSI
"Dancing Girls II", #3235

[nmelby]

Hi Gary,
I'm sure that others here will chime in regarding their experiences... but I thought that I'd share my thoughts.

The Race Committee did a good job of balancing the conditions that we had. I thought that for the entire fleet to sail a regatta in winds like that, with only one boat that capsized completely, showed the skill of some of the sailors that participated. There were stories of small equipment failures, and one boat had broken a rudder.

I didn't see any reefing of the mainsails though. We did decide to keep the spinnaker in its bag on our boat in the later races (the heaviest air of the regatta), and when the gusts were heavy we were very careful when gybing. After one of the races, when the winds continued to build, we did tack going downwind- a "chicken gybe". For the most part though, I was very impressed with the DS- even in winds that heavy, with the right sail trim the boat could handle well and be balanced. The key is to keep the sails venting, and keep the boat balanced between crew weight and position. It made for a few roaring reaches!

Both skipper and crew would hike in the big puffs, and in my DSII we would be forward against the bulkhead. As I'd mentioned above, with the right trim, we worked hard to hike, but the boat was balanced and powered up. It could drive forward instead of being knocked down.

My advice to you in a single handed situation would be this (anyone else feel free to agree/disagree). If you can reef, there's no shame in it! But, if you don't want to or can't, you can vent the sails with proper trim, crank on the vang, halyards, cunninghams, to flatten and depower, and get your weight on the rail as far forward as you can. Make sure that you always have the sheets in your hand so that you can dump them if you get in trouble. That's the key- if you start to lose control, you can just let them out, and if you go over, you would uncleat them right away. Use a hiking stick for the tiller, and feet in the hiking straps, and go fast!

I haven't sailed a lot in these kinds of winds in a DS, but it was a great experience for me. I learned a lot about the boat that week, and a little bit about myself too. Hope that helps!
-Nate

[Phill]

Nate covered it very well. And I too was impressed that in the conditions we were sailing, that only one capsize occured.

My best tips for heavy air survival.

Never leave the mainsheet unattended. By the time you try to react to a puff, its too late to ease.

Give crew full permission to ease the jib anytime they feel that the puff is 'scary'. ( I sail with my kids, altho grown now, that rule still helps)

I find that having the Centerboard up about 15-20% helps balance the helm.

Try to keep the boat absolutley flat at all times by working the mainsheet and helm to sometimes pinch a bit the the puffs.

Sometimes there will be up to 2/3's of the main sail backed or luffing, and only sailing on the last 1/3 of the sail at the leech.

Speed = control.

Remember we were racing and did have rescue boats available. The conditions in some of our races were not winds I would otherwise sail in.

SAFTEY is most important. there is always another day when you find the winds excessive.

Hope this helps

phill

[gary l. britton]

Thanks Phil and Nate for your discriptions of your sailing in the winds in the NACR 2007. I appreciate your response and hopefully I have learned something. I was surprised that Nate mentioned that he did not see much reefing of the main sails. I am always interested in hearing about sailing in heavy winds. I haven't done much racing (club racing for beers) in several years. Someday I would like to attend one of the sanctioned DaySailer events. They sound like fun.

Thank you again.

Gary
1966, DSI
"Dancing Girls II", #3235

[Adrift]

I was surprised that Nate mentioned that he did not see much reefing of the main sails.

Reefing the main in a race?

Reefing's for old dudes like me who don't like their beverage spilled nor watered down.

[gary l. britton]

Reefing's for old dudes like me who don't like their beverage spilled nor watered down. [/quote]

Adrift:

I am an "old dude" and I do not like my beverage spilled nor watered down. But I was interested in how they participants in the NACR 2007 were able to keep their boats sunny side up with 35 mph winds.
I have been in 20+ winds with full sail, and only my little (195 lb) body as ballast, and I had a very tough time. Of course this could also be caused by my "whimpy" sailing. And that was with reefing the old way, with roller reefing the boom. Now I have two reefing points on my sail and that has made a great deal of difference. Still I am a little shy with winds above 20-25. With my old Sidewinder 16, I did the hiking out thing and did have some thrilling rides, turned turtle several times, had the lake patrol out to save my rear-end once, but as aging progresses, and being out if shape, I can get some thrilling rides without hiking AND be able to keep the drink in hand and not get it watered down! ( I am a young old fart of 60 )

I assume you being in Florida, you are able to sail pretty much year around, correct? Lucky you! Getting colder than "you know what" around here and spring is at least 2 months away, maybe longer. Getting the itch to be on the water, of course with "drink in hand".

Take care and fair winds and keep your drink dry.

Gary
1966, DSI
"Dancing Girls II", #3235